


Vac Tube Trouble

by MuddysHuman



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Child, Family, Family Discipline, Hurt/Comfort, Powers are too much for a Child, This Is The Way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27204461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuddysHuman/pseuds/MuddysHuman
Summary: Baby Yoda is feeling poorly.  The Mandalorian does not know what to do.  So, he does what any new father does when the baby is sick--he takes the baby home to his Mother.  His Mother gives Djin and Baby Yoda wise and useful advice.  Which they don't want to take.  His Foster Brother offers to take Baby Yoda into his home and raise him as one of his own.  Baby Yoda decides at this point that he wants to do what he wants to do--no matter the risk to himself or others.  What's a Mandalorian Warrior to do with a toddler son who throws tantrums, won't eat his food and cannot seem to use the Vac Tube correctly anymore?  That's what this story is all about.  There's some new characters, a new planet, some history for Djin that I wrote myself.  I hope you like this--remember cute kids get away with a lot, until something happens and all of a sudden they aren't so cute anymore.  Enjoy!!!!
Relationships: Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Original Character(s)





	Vac Tube Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for writing this story came from a drawing done by "lockejessmonster" which was originally posted on Instagram. In contrast to the majority of drawings I have seen of the Mandalorian that show him wearing his ultra cool armor walking towards or away from the viewer accompanied by the Child in his egg pram, this picture shows the Mandalorian in full armor using his right hand to lift up Baby Yoda's bare legs and using his left hand to wipe Baby Yoda's butt with a baby wipe. Baby Yoda is calmly letting him do this. Above Baby Yoda's head there is a mobile, that a Child would have over their crib showing stars and planets and a model of Bobba Fett's ship, Slave 1. The creativity of thinking up this idea and then drawing it to perfection resonated in me and I began to think what would happen if instead of protecting Baby Yoda, the Mandalorian actually had to take care of Baby Yoda as any "barely-a-toddler" has to be taken care of. My thoughts turned into this story. I had fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it. All credit for the illustration that inspired this story goes to "Lockejessmonster"

Chapter 1: “State nature of problem with Clan Member”  
Razor Crest flew quietly in and out of one of the many asteroid fields surrounding Outer Rim planets.  
In the Command Seat, Djin reached for the comm panel and drew his hand back. He told himself that there was always more time, he did not have to contact anyone this early. The Child tugged at his hand, making his usual sign for “pick me up” and Djin automatically did so. This time when he settled the Child in his lap, the Child wiggled for several minutes until he found a place that was comfortable. This wiggling, accompanied by a sound halfway between a whimper and a cry, made up Djin’s mind.  
With his free hand he activated his COMM panel and when the lights showed green he announced, “SEEKING BACTA-SOONER”…There was static on the line for several minutes and then the click-click-click of a signal being relayed…then more static followed by a computer voice “REQUESTOR OF BACTA-WHAT TIME IS IT?” Djin checked his personal log and answered, “BEFORE THE NOON HOUR BUT AFTER THE MILA HAVE BEEN MILKED”. Quickly another voice came over the COMM, “BACTA REQUESTOR, CAN YOU FLY?” Djin sighed and spoke, “BACTA REQUESTOR HERE, YES, I CAN FLY, I DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS”. The voice continued, “WHO NEEDS BACTA?” Djin looked at the Child and said, “MY CLAN MEMBER, A CHILD”. “STAND BY FOR CODED COORDINATES, USE THE CODE OF THE JAWA”. Djin adjusted his COMM channel to the JAWA CODE. A quick chain of numbers came through the COMM channel…as the numbers came through the COMM channel, the navigation board lit up with calculated coordinates. “BACTA REQUESTOR CONFIRMS RECEIPT OF COORDINATES”. The computer voice confirmed, then the human voice came back on the line, “BACTA REQUESTOR, STATE NATURE OF PROBLEM WITH CLAN MEMBER”. Djin looked at the Child and tried to think how to respond, “WELL?”  
“PROBLEM WITH CLAN MEMBER HAS TO DO WITH PROBLEMS … PROBLEMS WITH USE OF VAC TUBE.

There was a pause and then a very heavy sigh…” I’LL SET UP A BACTA TUBE”. Djin made a face underneath his helmet, “BACTA REQUESTOR ESTIMATING ARRIVAL WITHIN FIVE HOURS”. Djin tuned off the COMM panel. The Child wiggled again in his lap, making more uncomfortable sounds. Djin looked at the Child, “It won’t be long now.  
Djin adjusted the course of Razor Quest and then entered Hyper Drive…  
  
Chapter Two “…And do you have feathers?”

Djin acknowledged the dock master telling him what docking bay to park at. The landing was smooth. Djin shut down the ship’s systems, stood up, put the Child in his Pram and left the Razor Crest. The dock master, officious clipboard in hand was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp. He barely glanced at the Pram and looked Djin in the eyes, while holding out his hand, “Landing fee, Parking fee, dock Maintenance Fee” minimum 1000 Imperial Credits or 100 Ruros.” Djin took a money bag from his armor pocket and gently tossed it on the clipboard. 200 Ruros. Make sure the Maintenance Crew cleans all internal systems, including the vac tube system.” The Dock Master nodded his head.

Djin engaged a taxi speeder and gave him the address. The Child would normally have been leaning over the edge of his Pram, eager to see a new world, but every time Djin glanced at the Child he was simply sitting up and looking at nothing. Djin shook his head. The Child was sick—he should have noticed it before.

The Speeder drew up in front of a fenced in area full of Campy Womp Rats—cousins to the Wild Womp Rats. The Campy Womp Rats were raised for fur. Djin paid the Speeder pilot and approached the fence.  
A boy, the Campy tender, walked over to him. “You interested in buying some of the best Campy Womps in the Outer Rim, Mister?” “Yes, but only if they have the black and white fur pattern, I need to finish a winter cloak. And do you have feathers?” The boy’s eyes widened, and he spoke, “We have the black and white in the back. 

  
Chapter Three: “Really, you greet me with a snort?”  
Djin walked into the building, which looked like the front of an animal stables. There were tiny Campy Womps, Miniature Bantha Calves and several incredible smelly rodents. The Child’s eyes grew wide as he took in each new animal. His nose wrinkled at the smell of the rodents who in turn smelled the Child and snorted back at him.

Djin kept walking into the next room, which was full of animal feed, on pallet after pallet. This room went on for many lengths, and at the end both wide doors showed a fenced in pasture with many, many different species of animals. Djin stared at each pallet of animal food and finally walked up to one that held the stalking grass for the Campy Womps. The stalking grass was bright red with yellow streaked cat tails.  
Djin stopped and a scanner light came from the floor going back and forth several times. For some reason, the barely audible whine of the scanner light made the Child shift uncomfortably in his arms. He gently tightened his arm around the Child’s Pram and spoke, “It won’t be long now”.

The stalking grass disappeared to be replaced with a panel in the floor that opened revealing a ramp that sloped downwards. Djin walked down the ramp followed by the Child’s Pram. As soon as they had descended below the height of the floor the hologram of the Stalking Grass reappeared.

The ramp they were walking on continued for some time, with each passage marked by a horizontal platform that had additional ramps leading off into different directions. There were no signs, but Djin did not need any signage. When they reached the 11th platform, he turned to the left and took the downward left ramp. This ramp continued, with many more side ramps. And it was at this point that Djin began to encounter people. All Mandalorians in helmet and armor. None of the Mandalorians paid any attention to Djin and he ignored them as well.

After descending another 20 minutes, Djin took another ramp to the left and after passing through a hologram at another horizontal platform he emerged into what he recognized as a med-bay. There were multiple people in the area, including people undergoing examination and treatment. It was relatively quiet and there was no blood on the floor so Djin was comfortable believing that no recent battles had taken place.

A droid approached Djin and greeted him, “Please follow me” Djin did not speak to the droid but simply followed the droid. The Droid led them down the hall to a room with each wall covered in medical equipment. There was even a complete bacta tank in the corner with fresh bacta bubbly in the tank.

Djin looked around the room and snorted in frustration. A woman’s voice spoke, “Really, you greet me with a snort? You literally did not have to wait at any step of the process and yet, you still are impatient because the room was not full of every medic in the place.”  
Djin looked at the woman. She was of advanced age, with white hair, cut short. She wore a medical gown, including the sterile boots and gloves required. Her face was uncovered, and she wore a medical scanner on her forehead.

Djin did not answer her. Instead, he pulled the Pram forward and spoke, “This Child has been having trouble with food. He either eats constantly, or refuses to eat and … I have just started to notice that he is not using the vac tube consistently. He is starting to squirm and whimper when no one is touching him.

The woman took in the information and then walked to the Pram and looked at the Child who peered curiously at her. She smiled at the Child and said, “Hello, my name is Pumra. Do not worry that Djin did not introduce you, I have known him a long time and he does not bother with words very much. Welcome into the Clans of Mandalore. We were incredibly happy to hear that Djin had adopted a foundling. This is the Way.

The Child looked at the woman with a confused look on his face. Djin said nothing. Pumra looked intently at the Child and said, “Have you eaten today?” The Child shook his head. Pumra looked at Djin, “what did you offer him to eat?” Djin said, “Stone broth, black bread and gona chips”. Pumra nodded her head, “that’s a reasonable variety of food so whatever is wrong isn’t because he’s not been offered food.” Again, she spoke to the Child, “Can you tell me where you hurt?” The Child gave her a stern look and patted his belly. “I can tell you have the same amount of words as your father.” 

Pumra turned the scanner on her forehead on and the Child looked at the lights with wonder. The scan beeped several times and then stopped.  
Pumra turned to Djin and said, “Unknown species, unknown life signs, pain registering without specifics and subject needs sleep. Anything more you can tell me about him?”

Djin paused and said, “we have been continually active lately and the more we were on the move the more he was excited, and I thought happy. Two weeks ago, the activity stopped when we left a planet and that is when his eating became erratic and so did the sleeping.” Djin stopped speaking and stood uncomfortably and finally said, “And he seemed to be dreaming and upset about the dreams. “Pumra nodded.

“What about the Vac Tube? When did you notice he was not using it?”

“It was when I did the weekly maintenance on the Razor Crest and the comp reported the Vac Tube was not in proper order. I ran the program and realized that the Vac Tube was reporting the same input as before the Child traveled with me.”

“He is not using the Vac Tube. What about putting a Hippen on him? Did you try that?”

Djin said, “Yes, I did. And he removed the garment. I replaced the garment and he removed it again. The third time he removed it, he threw it at me. That is when I started checking his Pram and clothing for waste and, I found a small amount there, but the amount was exceedingly small, and it did not appear every day.”

Pumra nodded, “because we have no data on this species my recommendation is that we start with a bacta bath to see if that will repair what is not working or if it does not we will learn what does not work.”

Djin nodded and said, “I do not know how he will react to the bacta; he’s never been in the tank before.”

Pumra spoke, “He has not been in bacta since he was with you, you mean?”

Djin said thoughtfully, “that is right, but somehow, I do not think he has ever been in Bacta before.”

Pumra nodded, “we will make sure that his first experience is not frightening. She reached a hand out to stroke the Child’s head. The Child did not like the gesture but made no move to get away. Pumra quickly brought up her other hand as the hand on the Child’s head gently tilted his head back. She inserted a tube in the Child’s nostril and squeezed. The Child pulled his head away and snorted. He shook his head several times and started making sounds. Pumra reached for his head again and the Child slapped her hand away. Djin was suddenly there, holding the Child’s hands while Pumra repeated the application of the medicine using the nose dropper. After the sixth dose, the Child finally stopped fighting and went limp. 

Pumra spoke, Computer make note to increase sedation in nasal cannula for this patient so that only two doses are required. She turned to Djin; “can you please remove his robe?

Djin removed his gauntlets, washed his hands, and removed the Child’s robe. As he removed it, he and Pumra noticed a small amount of waste on the Child’s legs and on the garment. When the robe had been removed, Pumra asked Djin to hold the Child upright, which he did by grabbing him by the wrists. Pumra that wrapped a waste hippen around the child followed by another garment that included a weight belt.

“Carry him, please.”

They walked over to the Bacta Tank which Pumra programmed and then checked. A medical droid approached with a breathing mask and Djin pulled the Child away, “NO DROIDS!” he said, to the world at large.

Pumra sighed and spoke, “I thought you were getting better about this”. She took the mask from the medical droid and placed it over the Child’s face. She then took a bottle of eye drops from the Droid and placed four drops in each of the Child’s Eyes.

The droid handed her a harness and she expertly fitted it over the Child. When it was done, she paused for a second and then asked for a second harness. The second harness went over the Child’s hands and feet. 

Djin spoke, “is that necessary?”

“I would rather this Child not climb out of the tank before the treatment is done.”

She gestured to the Droid who handed her a harness connector. Again, the connection was done quickly, and the droid activated the bacta tank. The Child, drooping in the harness was lifted up and over the edge of the tank and then slowly lowered into the tank. The Tank Cover was closed, and the droid activated the bacta injection sequence. The Child was suspended vertically in the bacta.

The bacta entered the tank in a programmed sequence with Pumra checking on each infusion and recording the change in the Child’s vital signs and adjusting the next infusion based on what data was reported.

Throughout this process Djin watched the Child float. Occasionally he turned to watch Pumra working but he did not speak to her.

Finally, the bacta tank changed color again…this time Pumra smiled and spoke to Djin, “he has successfully eliminated waste, now we have something to analyze”. 

“Bring him up then.”

Pumra glared at him. “Thank you, Doctor. Would you mind if we let the Bacta tank run the analysis on the waste to determine if there is a problem the bacta hasn’t reached yet?”

Djin nodded at that and then he spoke, “while he’s in there can you see if there’s something wrong with his skin? He seems to be experiencing scaley patches on his skin and one time the skin itself seemed to be coming off an area of his foot.” 

Skin troubles? She nodded at the droid who pressed an infusion button that filled the tank with another dose of bacta. This bacta surrounded the child and appeared to coat all of his skin. It also caused a reaction as the Child wiggled wherever the bacta touched his skin, although he did not wake up. 

Pumra checked the bacta tank computer, “you were right, the skin is weak all over his body. The bacta infusion is providing rejuvenation and it looks as though the skin integrity was not compromised.” She looked at Djin, “did the problem with his skin start the same time as the problem with the Vac Tube”

Djin nodded, “yes, about the same time. He was fine as long as we were on the move, but as soon as we stopped moving, he just seemed to malfunction.”

“Djin, a computer malfunctions. A living being gets sick or reacts to something and feels sick. With a Child, especially one from an unknown species, we have to figure out what is normal for him and then figure out how to get him back to normal.”

Djin snapped at her, “You know what I meant! Stop twisting my words!”

Pumra’s voice hardened. “You know better than to speak to me like that.” She glared at him. He finally retreated.

“I know. It is just I do not know how to make this better. And when his skin started peeling off, I wondered if…if…”

“That would frighten any parent. That’s why you brought him here.”

She checked the bacta tank and asked the droid a question. The droid answered her in medical code, and she seemed to be happy with the answer.

“The Child would benefit greatly from remaining in the bacta for additional cycles of treatment. This will take several hours. While he is in there, I would eat with you. I would speak with you. Will you eat and speak with me?”

Djin said, “Yes”.

As they left the room Djin looked back at the Child, now a solid green being in a tank of swirling colors. He had to admit the Child now appeared more at rest than he had recently.

As they left the room another human came in. She greeted Djin by name and he responded with a soft, “Hello Evka”. Pumra gave Evka the Child’s medical history, asked her to arrange for the cleaning of the Child’s robe and bedding and then told her she and Djin would be consulting in another room.

They left the room together and walked for some time in complete silence. She finally led him into a small room where there was a table with two trays on it. A pot of warm liquid was in the center of the table with two stone mugs next to it. As they entered the room lighting came on.

She walked to the side of the room and washed her hands, as did Djin. Then they both sat down. She started eating while Djin just sat there.  
Finally, she stopped and looked at him and spoke, “I have been very patient with you today, but if you do not remove your helmet and join me in eating right now you will soon find yourself dangling in a bacta tank with tubes in all of your orifices.”

Djin took the threat seriously. He removed his helmet, brushed his hair out of his eyes and started eating. While he ate, he said nothing, as did Pumra.

Finally, when the meal had been consumed, Djin poured the warm liquid into the stone mugs and handed her one before picking up his own.  
She smelled the liquid and then offered her mug to him for a toast, “to Clan members who have traveled far and returned.” He responded, “to being welcomed home to food and fire”. They both drank.

“Your aunt told me you had adopted a foundling and started your own Clan. The Mudhorn Clan. She did not mention the unusual species of your foundling. She has always liked to surprise me. Like you do.”

Djin wished a thousand minutes in the Sarlac pit for his Aunt and her big mouth. Of all the things he had not wanted to share with Pumra was the events that caused him to start his own clan.

“I did not plan on adopting a foundling and the last time I was with my Aunt we were running for our lives through lava tunnels while she fought imp storm troopers with hammer and tongs. Perhaps sharing the species of my foundling got lost in the excitement.”

“It was a good fight. She was able to recover all the Beskar from the armor and make her way off planet.”

“She could have stayed. We ended up removing all the imp Storm Troopers.”

“That’s what I told her, but she said she had another challenge.”

“She always has another challenge.”

“Yes, that is her way. Now, what is your way? Are you any closer to identifying where the Child’s kind is from so you can return him?”

“No closer. I have eliminated several systems, based on his survival requirements, and I have requested assistance from others who travel to be on the lookout.”

“Others who travel, does that mean Cara? The retired rebel shock trooper?”

Djin upped the ante to wishing for a million minutes in a Sarlac Pit to his Aunt, --she didn’t tell the species of the Child but she did include in her report who Cara was and who she had been. 

“Cara is a friend. She helped me get the Child away from a Moff who wanted to take him and experiment on him. She is a friend, nothing more.”

“Good, everyone needs friends. Are you done eating?”

Djin nodded. Pumra stood up. “I have a bacta tank ready for you—your initial treatment for a skull fracture was superficial at best.”

Djin shook his head, “The Child will be waking soon…”

Pumra ignored him as she signaled to a wall computer that they would be there soon. “The Child is undergoing a series of bacta treatments, followed by at least two sleep cycles. You will be undergoing one bacta treatment and at least one sleep cycle. You will be awake and healed before the Child wakens.” 

Djin said, “No.”

Pumra looked at him and spoke, “Do you remember what happened the last time you said No to me?”

“I am no longer a child or a foundling, I have sworn to the Creed and I am the head of a Clan and…”, suddenly his voice stopped, and he shook his head. “I said no” as he keeled over and landed face up on the floor.

Pumra summoned a stretcher team and looked down at Djin, “You may be the Head of a Clan, with a foundling of your own to raise, but you will always be the foundling that I raised and when I tell you something is going to happen, it will happen. This is the way, my son.”

The droid stretcher team arrived and picked Djin up and put him on the stretcher. Pumra picked up Djin’s helmet and followed them out of the room.  
  
Chapter Four: Show me the Green Child and you Might Survive the Day

Purma looked at the bacta tanks side-by-side and smiled grimly. The Child’s vital signs had improved, as had his entire physical appearance. The first sleep cycle had ended, he had been fed through a bacta nutrition infusion and he was deep in his second sleep cycle.

Next to the Child, Djin floated vertically in another bacta tube. Unlike the child there were many more tubes attached to Djin’s body and the control panel indicated a series of bacta infusions was being made. Djin had endured a skull fracture, only barely healed by the “nurse droid”. What the bacta was doing now was rehealing the injury and putting the rest of his systems in balance. He was very deep in a sleep cycle and Purma had programmed the bacta tank to keep him in deep sleep for any entire day/nighttime.

Satisfied she turned to Evka and said, “they are both stable and healing. I am going outside to breath fresh air. Call me if either wakes up before the programming ends.

Purma walked out of the room and up the ramps until she exited the underground entrance and saw the Campry herder. As soon as he saw her, he ran over to her and said, “Purma, there is a report of a stranger in town. And she is looking for the Child. She has been here once, and I told her she would have to come back to talk to you.” “Thank you”. Purma went to the wall, activated the ladder, and rose with it up the wall through the roof and onto a flat platform. When she arrived, she found watcher’s goggles on the nails and put them on her head. She adjusted the skan for offworlders and was quickly rewarded by an outlined image of a woman making her way back to the stables. Purma switched the skan to visual and saw a young woman dressed in functioning black armor with a tatoo around one arm. “Rebel Shockwarrior”, she said softly.

Purma went down the steps and walked up to the Campry herder. She told him to go below and not come up until called. He was reluctant to leave until she gave him the look and he scampered away. 

Purma walked through the paddock, idly checking each animal.  
She was not surprised when an animal reacted to the stranger who now held an activated blaster next to her ear. A female voice spoke, “Show me the green Child and you might survive the day.”

Purma turned and looked at the woman’s face. It was Djin’s Cara, of course. She smiled at the woman and said, “Of course Cara, follow me.”  
Purma walked past the startled woman, into the barn and down the ramps. The woman followed her, still very much on guard. 

Cara spoke, “How did you know my name?”

Purma shrugged again and said, “You’re a female rebel trooper dressed in older armor. You helped Djin escape with the Child and you yourself have carried the Child to shield him from harm. Thus, you must be Cara.”

Cara nodded her head. “Are they both here? I was hoping this planet had some of the Child’s people.”

Purma spoke, “The Child did not grow up here. Djin did.

“Here? On this planet? Are their Mandalores here?”

Purma opened the door into the treatment room and said, well one Mandalorian for sure” Cara entered the room with Purma. The two bacta tanks stood side by side and both the Child and Djin were visible…except Djin’s face was masked by light patterns in the Bacta as well. 

They will sleep for some time now. Would you like something to eat?

Cara looked at the woman and back at Djin and the Child. She nodded her head.

An hour or so later, the med droids were loading Cara’s unconscious body onto a stretcher. Purma ordered the lead droid. “Set up a bacta tank for maintenance and rest. Make sure when her clothing is removed you are mindful of hidden explosives. And run a nutritional analysis as well.”

The med-droid made an inquiring sound. Purma snorted. “Yes, she looks very well fed. However, she is a soldier and needs to have the proper amount of nutrition. The med-droid beeped assent and they left the room.”

Purma walked into the Child’s room and noticed with satisfaction that the life readings were much closer to normal that when the Child first arrived.  


Chapter Five: “Can’t I just Feed Him Some More Frogs?”

Djin took the towel handed him by the med droid and quickly brushed the bacta liquid off of his body. His clothing and armor were laid out on a table and he dressed and put his helmet on. He left the room he was in and entered the room next to his.  
Purma was sitting in a chair, holding the Child, who was swaddled in a soft pink blanket such that his head was the only thing visible. The Child’s eyes were blinking slowly, and it was obvious that he was only half awake. Purma held a bottle to a tube that entered the Child’s nose and slowly squeezed the fluid in the bottle into the tube. She looked up as Djin entered and answered his unspoken question. “when we took him out of the bacta tank and cleaned him up we tried feeding him, based on what the analyzer said was his nutritional deficiencies. He would not eat; he would not sit still, and he tried leaving three times. So, I used a nasal spay to calm him and inserted a feeding tube. So far, he has had 3 of the 6 vials of nutritional fluid he requires.  
Djin spoke, “He hates that nasal tube.”  
“I agree, any sentient being would hate being fed through their nose. Hopefully, when next he wakes, he will remember that he hated being fed this way and will cooperate. Would you like to finish feeding him?”  
“No, I haven’t had to feed him like that. I might hurt him.”  
Purma shrugged her shoulders. “Let me know when you want to learn how to feed your own foundling.”  
Djin spoke, “He feeds himself! I have seen him eat a frog, all by himself! He drinks stone broth and eats bread too! Why does he need special foods?”  
Purma, “Djin, sit down and listen to me”  
Djin sat.  
“This Child has multiple nutritional deficiencies. Hence the need for six separate tube of nutrients. The analyzer identified those deficiencies and also confirmed why he’s not using the vac tube…He literally is digesting all the food he has been given and any that he can find for himself because he is too much in need of nutrients to allow his body to filter out the materials that do not provide successful nutrition. That is why he is so out of balance. His body is supposed to excrete materials that do not provide nutrition, instead, it is retaining them attempting to draw value from them.”  
“Can’t I just feed him more frogs?”  
“Not yet. Eventually, his nutrional profile will return to normal. Then we can try adding solid foods back into his diet. Right now, he needs the correct nutrition.”  
“I do not like this. What about his skin?”  
“Well, the skin analysis is more complicated. Some of it is nutritional based and the rest is hygiene.”  
“Hygiene?”  
“Yes, Djin, all children need to be bathed regularly. The fact is this Child always wears one garment, which is a robe, and does not undergo regular cleaning. Is this correct?”  
“He has always worn the robe. He is comfortable in it. I have not noticed him needing cleaning. “  
“I can teach you how to bathe him, how to clothe him—and part of his clothing must change. going forward it is essential he wear a hippen so that you have his waste to analyze every day. “  
“Tomorrow, the treatments will be over, and the Child will have recovered. He and I will leave.”  
Djin walked out. Purma sighed and turned back to the Bacta tank. The Med-Droid spoke a few words of binary language.  
“What did you say?” The Med Droid repeated what he had said, this time in a louder tone.  
“Yes, I think Djin could use another night in the bacta. The problem is, he cannot spend the rest of his life in a bacta tube. Neither can the Child.  
  
Chapter Six-“That is your naked, green Child dancing on the edge of the Roof” 

Cara and Djin sat at one of the tables in front of the café. Cara was drinking blue milk and Djin was checking and rechecking a communicator. Finally, Cara grew weary of being ignored and picked the most irritating question she could think of, just to get Djin’s attention. “So, does your Mother greet everyone by drugging them and subjecting them to Bacta treatment without even asking?

Djin looked at her and said, “Yes.” And then he shrugged his shoulders like “what can I tell you, I did not do it, I do not approve of her doing it and my Mother put me in the bacta as well. My Mother puts every one in a bacta tube.”

Which was not what Cara expected him to say. Uncomfortable now, she asked him, “how much longer will the child be in the Bacta?”

“This is his third treatment, so it should be less than an hour. After that, another feeding and then we will leave.”

“Did I hear correctly, are you going to accept that mapping job for the local magistrate?

If I cannot find a nearby bounty hunter job, I will. 

“Sounds easy enough, just put the special sensors on a land speeder or speeder bike and spend the day flying over each section of the planet. But I am confused, if you grew up here, why do they want you to do a cartographic survey?”

Djin looked up from his Communicator and shook his head. “I didn’t grow up here on this planet. After the purge, the Mandalore moved from planet to planet. Wherever we stopped, Pumra ran the medical wing for all the Clans. When foundlings were brought home, she kept them with her until a Clan adopted each foundling.” 

This planet here has been the location of the medical wing for just a few years. It’s always been somewhere but they move it often, to avoid discovery.”

Cara, now that she had his attention was not backing down, “But you didn’t get adopted? Pumra raised you?”

“I was supposed to be adopted into the Speed Sword Clan. But the Clan leader and his sons failed to return, and the women of the Clan joined other Clans and the Speed Sword Clan ended.”

Why didn’t another Clan adopt you?

This question should have made Djin angry, but instead he just shook his head, “Many foundlings are not formally adopted into a specific Clan. For those who are not adopted, they are apprenticed to one of the guilds”

“Like the armorer guild?”

Din nodded his head. “Armorer, Mechanics, Growers, Warriors”, there are many guilds.”

“So, you joined the Medical guild because Pumra runs that guild?”

“No, I was not apprenticed to a guild. After the Speed Sword Clan dissolved, Pumra and her mate, Gusnar, adopted me into their Clan, the Red Pole. I was not raised to be a medic, I was raised in the fighting corps. Like most Mandalorians. 

“Why didn’t Pumra take you on as an apprentice?”

“Because I don’t enjoy being around sick people and because…. bodily fluids make me sick.”

Cara’s eyes went wide. “You routinely get involved with fights that cause many bodily fluids to leave the body. And that makes you sick?”

No, I do not get sick when I am in a fight. It is just being around people who need to be cared for and who smell…and anyway, Pumra did not require that I apprentice with her. She just required that I wait an extra year to swear to the Creed and during that year she and Gusnar showed me all sorts of other futures I could have.

Cara shook her head. “Pumra didn’t make you be a medic and then she did make you wait to take up the armor of the Mandalore? That does not make sense. I have seen you fight. You fight as though you were born to battle.”

The Clan leaders wanted to increase the number of Mandalore. Many foundlings were being brought back as the Clone Wars rendered children orphans all over this quadrant. Each Mandalore Clan was encouraged to find foundlings and bring them back.

“Ok, so your leaders wanted more soldiers. I get that. Why didn’t Pumra and Gusnar see that you were born to be a soldier and encourage you to take the Creed earlier?”

“Because she, they both, thought then that the only reason I would take the Creed would be to avenge my parents and my planet. To take the Creed means you put the survival of all the Clans ahead of your own. No one picks up the weapons of the Mandalore to wage private wars.”

“Did you? I mean did you wage private wars?”

Djin looked at her, turned his head away and inserted the drinking tube from the glass of cold ale into his mouth and took a huge drink. He removed the drinking helmet and turned back to her. “It was not a private war. We were in my home system collecting fugitives for bounty. We received additional pucks for some people on my home planet. While we were working, I talked to some people who had survived the ambush. They told me why the droids had been sent to my planet. They told me the name of the Imperial Officer who had ordered the ambush. By that time, that imperial officer had a bounty on his head, and I took the PUCK. 

And you brought him back for a trial?

No, when he saw me, saw a Mandalorian was going to take him in, he raised a weapon and fired at me. Him, I brought back Cold. He was on a Command Ship with a droid army. I brought the Command Ship with the dead Imperial Officer and all the droids back and dumped them and the entire ship into the largest volcano on the planet. I did earn the bounty on the Imperial Officer. It was a good bounty. I gave the Beskar to the Armorer for the foundlings.

Pumra and her sister, the Armorer, and Gusnar were all furious with me for wasting the Beskar in the droids. We quarreled about my decision and that’s when I left.”

“And now you’re back.”

“Now I am waiting for Pumra to tell me what the Child needs me to do to make it function better.” 

“And then you’ll leave again?””

“There are no others on this planet that look or act like the Child. I must seek out his tribe so that he can be amongst people who look, and act like him.” 

“It makes sense. But you know he does not care that you do not look like him or act like him. He has been comfortable with you ever since you first me him. “

They were interrupted by Oolie, who grabbed a chair, turned it around and sitting so that he could rest his arms and neck on the back of the chair. Oolie wore no helmet, though the rest of his clothing and tool belt were of obvious Mandalorian origin. The droid waiter came by to take his order and he order 3 strong ales, two bantha meals and some dessert. When he was done ordering he looked at Djin.

“So, did you decide whether you will leave the foundling with Greta and me?.”

Djin spoke, “Cara, this is my foster brother, Oolie. Oolie, this is Cara, of Alderaan. She was a shock trooper for the Rebel Army. Oolie is in the engineer’s guild.”

Cara smiled genuinely and spoke, “Very nice to meet you Engineer Oolie.”

“It’s good to meet one of Djinn’s friends. You’re the first one I’ve met who actually knows how to smile.”

Cara actually blushed. Djin saw the blush and addressed his foster brother, “I haven’t decided about the Child yet. Speaking of children, shouldn’t you be with your six whomp rats doing something to teach them how to fix broken equipment?” 

“My six whomp-rats are at lessons now. Something to do with identifying all the edible species in a pond. Their Mother is convinced they should be part of the agricultural guild. Our houseplants die before the leaves turn color, but my children should grow food for all the Clans.” He took another long drink of the ale. “

“Oh, Djin’s Child could help you with that, he likes to eat frogs.” Cara smiled at Djin who glared back at her.

Oolie’s food came and he thanked the droid and took a bite and said, “Doesn’t surprise me, Djin liked to fish along with the river lizards. Speaking of fishing, will you go with us tonight for some net fishing?”

“Oolie, the Child is resting now, after being unplugged, so we can leave tonight.”

“So, he was just plugged and now he’s unplugged. Good, Purma strikes again. We are so fortunate to be part of her Clan. Are we going fishing tonight, or not?”

Djin nodded and Oolie smiled back at him. “ my children can see how a true hunter stalks and achieves his prey”. 

“Speaking of Purma, here she comes,” Cara pointed.

Purma was running to get to them, shoving tables and chairs out of the way. “Is he here? Did he come to find you?”

“The Child is not here. He was with you, in the Bacta tanks”.

“I went to check, and his tank was empty, and the med-Droid had been deactivated. I assumed he was looking for you.”

Suddenly, a plop of greenish-yellowish solid struck Purma on her right ear.

They all looked up. Oolie was the first to speak. “Well, we know where he is, Mother. Djin, I do believe that is your naked green child dancing on top of the roof railing throwing his own poop at us, DUCK!” as another handful of poop struck Purma on the back of her head.”

Chapter Seven: Who Ordered one Naked, Green Child to Go?

All four of them were quickly kneeling on the ground, using the table as a shield. Oolie glared at Djoin and looked at Purma. “Funny how he is putting all of his attention on you, Mother. It’s almost as though he didn’t appreciate being held under a bacta bath and then have tubes stuck into his nose.”

Djin: “Oolie, do you have a working Phoenix here?”

“Yes, I’ll get it.” He got up and ran to his workshop. While he was gone, a crowd formed under the building with the naked green Child on top and they cheered every handful of poop he threw. Oolie came back with a Phoenix which he attached to the back of Djin’s armor. “It’s good for only 15 minutes brother, make the first pass count.”

Djin nodded to his brother and Purma and ignited the Phoenix. He quickly rose to the roof of the building. By the time he arrived, the Child was no longer on the roof railing. He was nowhere to be seen. Djin landed on the roof and started calling for the Child. No sound, but Djin saw a short movement at the edge of the roof. He moved to the edge and said, “that’s enough, come out right now!”. The Child emerged, giggled at him, and ran through Djin’s legs and under the railing of the roof. Djin yelled at him, “Stop where you are!” All that came back to him was the Child’s giggle. Djin cursed and ran after the Child. The Child kept dodging in and out of the railing, stopping once to throw a handful of poop at Djin. The poop hit Djin in the helmet and he wiped it off with one gauntlet and kept running. The Child came to an open doorway and started running down the steps, there was the sound of a scuffle and Djin hurried to the doorway. Cara emerged, holding a blanket that contained a very agitated Child who was screaming and kicking. Cara was breathing heavily, “one green, naked Child, to go. Who ordered one green, naked Child, to go?”

Djin leaned back on the roof railing breathing heavily. 

Oolie suddenly appeared, wearing a phoenix on his back. As he cut the flame and landed, he looked at the wiggling blanket, the heavily breathing two people and said, “Glad to see your Child is feeling better, Djin. Are you finally ready to talk with Greta and me about letting us take your Child for a while to try to get him slightly more civilized than he is now?”

Djin just sat there. Anyone who saw him could tell he was pondering a very powerful question. 

  
Chapter Eight: “All you did was throw a grenade in the water”

Djin sat at the food table in his brother’s home. He had just finished eating dinner with this brother, his brother’s wife, Greta and their six children. Oolie spoke, “I can set you up with some space and equipment, so that you can take care of the Child when you are traveling.” 

“Thank you, I will ponder it.” 

Greta spoke up: “The ladies of the temple also have been gathering clothing for your son.” “Thank you, that is very kind of them.” 

“Djin, you need to wash and cloth your child, every day.” 

“So you say.” 

“Of course, I say this. Everyone who has ever raised a child knows this and does this.” 

“Sorry Djin, but she’s right. Taking care of a child is more than protecting him from harm. You also have to feed him, clothe him and teach him.” 

They were interrupted by the youngest of Oolie’s children asking, “Is it time to go fishing yet, Dad?” 

“Yes, it is time. Uncle Djin and I will go together. We will get enough fish to feed the village.”

After a fishing trip that was mostly silence between the brothers and noise from an excited small child, they were successful in gathering enough fish for the village.

On their way back to the house with a huge basket filled with all sorts of fish, Oolie was still fussing. “Fishing is supposed to be a solitary activity involving skill. All you did was throw a grenade into the pond.”

“But Dad, this was a great catch. We will have enough for the entire village.”

“Yeah, Dad, you know I was right. “

“That reminds me, Greta wants to know if the Child will be staying with us.”

“I really don’t know yet. I have to talk to Purma first.”

Chapter Nine: He must be bathed and cleaned and dusted every day?

“Are you serious?” Pumar nodded her head. Djin continued, “You mean that whatever the Child deposits in the hippen has to be checked in an Analyzer so that the Child’s nutritional needs for the day can be determined? And that what he needs to eat could vary as much as three different liquids every day, sometimes in half day increments? And that he must be bathed and cleaned and oiled and dusted every time his clothes are changed? Every time?

Pumar said, “you have seen how it is when his nutrition is not evaluated. In the five days you have been here, his skin has stopped shedding, he sleeps much better and his energy level is higher-he was able to climb out of the bacta tank on his own, disable the med-Droid and get to the top of the building. In order for this to continue, and for him to start the growth process, all tasks must be done.

“Am I to travel with a nursemaid?” 

Purma did not answer his question. Instead she spoke, “you have seen the charts. His bones are not growing, neither is his skin-but his muscles are growing, with no place to grow. That is why his skin is so delicate and why he has so much trouble with food. When he eats, he must eat so that his body is in balance. “ 

“Balance? The little Whomp Rat can balance on his Pram with one hand and the rest of his body dancing on the sides of the Pram. He is in Balance.”

Pumar shook her head. “No, what you see is him using the powers of the sorcerer to cling to the side of the Pram. Tell me when he does this “balancing” does he go to sleep?” Djin nodded. “Does he go to sleep right away? Like an energy weapon when all the charge is gone, does he collapse that quickly?” Djin paused and then said, “When he gets tired, he sleeps. All children sleep.”

Pumar said, “when this Child uses the powers of his race he collapses. He is not yet old enough and his physical body is not strong enough for him to use the powers. In fact, if I could see children of his kind being raised, I would expect that in his home culture children do not use their powers until they are much older and stronger than he is.”

Djin spoke firmly, “He only uses the powers when things are desperate. During the attack of the Mud horn, when Greef was clawed almost to death and when the flames were thrown at us all.”

“Djin, those are the times you saw him use the powers. Again, based on what I am seeing in the scans, this Child uses the Powers frequently, to compensate for his small size and limited reach.”

“So, I will tell him not to use the Powers. That will make it easier on him.”

Pumar shook her head. “you can tell him what not to do, however, the Powers are part of him. He may not actually know he is using the Powers. It just may be a reaction to whatever challenge he is facing.”

Djin shook his head, “well, if it’s an involuntary reaction, he cannot stop himself and I will have to watch him whenever he is awake. How is this possible?”

Pumar held up a hand, in the universal gesture for “wait”. She walked to a corner of the room and picked up a covered tray and brought it back to where they were seated. 

She removed the cover revealing four bracelets, set with a curlicue pattern. The metal of each bracelet was an amalgam of multiple metals. There were gold and silver and red and was that Beskar? Djin had never seen such things before. He removed the gauntlet from his right hand and picked up one of the bracelets. Although the metal was thinly cast and the curley cue pattern ensured an almost constant bend and twist the metal was lightweight although not very flexible.

Djin looked at Pumar and spoke with disgust in his voice, “these are shackles to control a Child! They do not exist in nature. You had them made!”

Pumar, “Yes, I consulted my sister and she reviewed the texts about the war with the Sorcerers and then we worked with your brother to design them and he worked with the redglasses to make them. The ancient texts spoke of a Gretal mixture that could be cast. When a Sorcerer was covered in a net of this Gretal mixture, they could not use their powers.”

“Without his powers he is tiny and vulnerable! His Powers make him stronger.”

“His powers are making him sick. He needs to stop using the Powers and start eating and drinking and growing so that he can live the way he is supposed to.”

“So, I am to collect his waste, have it analyzed, feed him special foods, wash him every few hours and make sure he does not ever use his Powers? I will need four nursemaids and a much bigger ship to fly.” Djin rose to his feet and walked in angry circles around the room. “He removed the hippen as soon as you put it on him. How could I put the garment on him by myself? Just tell him to stay still?”

Pumar stood, covered the tray of bracelets, and returned them to the corner. She spoke softly, “There are structures that can be used to restrain a Child so that they can be tended to. I use them when a Child is brought to me who will not submit to being examined. These structures do no lasting harm.” 

Djin snorted, “I remember you restraining me when I was a Child. I still hate you for that. He paused, realizing he had said too much.

The Empire’s scientists “restrained this Child”. When he woke, he was terrified.”

“Djin, when you remember your pain, remember all of this. As a foundling, you came to us refusing to speak, to eat or to breathe. I had to examine you to find out what weapon had been used to hurt you so I could begin healing you. You refused to stand still, so you were restrained. The Empire’s scientists are not you. You do not terrify the Child. Ever since you met him, he has trusted you and cared for you. Now it is your time to trust in yourself that you can care for him.”

Suddenly, the door burst opened, and Cara entered, carrying a discarded hippen. She saw the two of them and hurried over. “Djin, I went in to check on him and he was gone. He got out of the Pram and out of the clothes he was in and this was on the floor and I checked, and the bottom panel of the door had been lifted off his hinges. I looked and could not see him. When I asked if anyone had seen him, two of the merchants said they saw a small one in a brown robe on a power board heading out to the canyon river.

Djin ran for the door yelling behind him. “Alert the other clans to get in the air and find him. He cannot control a power board himself so when he runs out of energy the board will crash!!!!”

  
Chapter Ten: This is not the way!

Djin rode a speeder bike at top speed over the uneven terrain. Alongside him rode Cara and Oolie. Oolie was shouting through the comm-link as other Mandalorians rode to their left and right and beneath them. Oolie shouted to Cara, one power board has been spotted, to the left of the green ridge. As one the three speeders turned to the left. Cara signalled the other two men that she would go low and they should pick altitudes above her so they could scan different areas.

Djin spotted the power board. The Child, for some reason, was wearing his brown cloak again, and was clinging to the center of the power board. The Child was laughing and was that singing as well? The Child looked behind him and seeing the three that he knew he raised an arm from the Board to wave at them. The action changed his balance and suddenly the board flipped over, and the Child was clinging to the underside of the board which began to wobble. 

Djin’s heart was in his throat because he did not think he could reach the Child in time. Next to him, Cara launched a spear with a lanyard attached to it. The spear hit the edge of the board and caused it to wobble even worse. Cara very slowly slowed down her speeder which slowed down the speed board. The Child shifted his grip on the underside of the speed board and began to wail in a pitiful fashion. 

While Cara slowly slowed the Board down, Djin speeded up and did a flyby where he grabbed for the Child. The Speed Board wobbled again and Djin missed. The wake of his speeder was so powerful, the Child was blown away from the Board and fell, and fell and fell…

Suddenly the falling Child was matched by two speeders with a heavy tarp between them. The speeders matched the fall of the Child until they got under him with the tarp between them. The drivers raised their speeders until the Child was in contact with the tarp. Once the Child was safely nestled within the tarp the two drivers slowed their speeders and made a slow turn to meet up with Djin. Djin brought his speeder to a halt and waited for them. He was shaking with fear and adrenaline and he kept blinking to make sure the Child was safely on the tarp.

The two speeders came alongside Djin and Oolie lifted the Child by its robe and handed him over to Djin who hugged him tightly. Oolie paused and then said, “no charge for retrieval and delivery brother, but you’ll probably have to pay for the fuel.

Djin looked at his brother and his nephew, who also was the Campra tender, who was the other speeder pilot and said, “Thank you for the life of this Child.”

“This Is The Way, Djin. It’s what we do for all Mandolorians.” Oolie reached out and grabbed his brother’s forearm. With a wave, he and son detached the tarp from their speeders and with slow turns headed back to the settlement.

Securing the Child to his land speeder Djin mounted and set course for the settlement. He used the commlink to notify the others that the Child had been found and was safe. The acknowledgements of the other Mandalorians were received and then Djin and the Child rode in silence, with Cara next to them. Finally, Cara signalled she would fly ahead, leaving them some privacy.

Finally, the Child looked up at Djin and reached out his hands—to be picked up. Djin shook his head and stared at the Child. “You put our Clan and many others in danger! That is not the Way. We Mandalorians have many enemies—we cannot risk losing one of our own to his own foolishness. Whether you take the Creed or not, you are of my Clan and you will not risk your life foolishly ever again! Is that clear?” 

The Child looked at Djin with amazement. The man in the helmet had never spoken to him like this before. Using strong words and with so much anger in his tone. Surely, the man in the helmet understood that even though he was a youngling, barely 50 years old, he could always take care of himself. Of course, today he had been startled by the board taking off so swiftly but there had not been any real danger. He could always have used the Force to control the board…he just had been enjoying himself first. He was certain the man simply did not understand. He tried using his words, saying “everything was fine, there was no danger” in his own language.

Djin exploded, “Yes there was danger!!! You do not eat or sleep enough and every time you use a sorcerer’s spell to move things you get weaker and weaker. This has to stop! You have to stop using spells and start eating and drinking and sleeping and growing!” 

As the words came out of his mouth, Djin finally realized and accepted what he had to do now.

Djin used the Commlink to contact Pumar, when she answered, he told her they were coming back, and he wanted her to bring what she had made for the Child to the front of her house. Her answer with just the slightest hint of surprise, was a firm yes.

Then Djin used the Commlink to contact Cara. When she answered he told her, in rebel battle code, that she would be needed upon landing and what he needed her to do. She made him repeat the instructions three times, but at last confirmed. 

When they landed, Pumar and Cara were waiting for them outside of the house. He shut the speeder down and picked up the Child. The Child reached out for his travel Pram but Djin held him firm. Djin looked at Pumar and Cara and received their nods that they were ready. Djin then held the Child away from his body. Faster than any droid, Cara reached out and grabbed the Child’s ankles, somehow at the same time using her hands to push up his robe exposing his ankles. Pumar reached out, pulled the left leg straight and put the spiral bracelet on, starting at the ankle and working her way up to his knee. The Child screamed with indignation. Ignoring the scream, Pumar did the same with the Child’s right leg.

Djin, then dropped the Child’s arms and grabbed his legs so the Child was face down looking at the ground. The Child screamed again, with indignation and anger and immediately lifted his right arm and pointed it at Cara. Cara reached for the arm, forcing the hand to point away from her and muttered under her breath, “I don’t let anyone use the same weapon on me twice, Whomp Rat”. Pumar pushed the robe sleeve aside and fastened a wrist bracelet on the Child’s wrist all the way up to the elbow.

After the third bracelet had been placed, the Child lifted his left hand and held it up. From the fingertips came the crackle of lightening. Fortunately, the lightening only traveled about a foot from the Child before disappearing. The Child tried again, which made it easier for Cara to grab his arm. Pumar reached for the arm and the Child did an impossible wiggle out of the Djin’s arms. Landing on the ground he faced the three adults and screamed at all of them. He then turned to run. 

A rope suddenly fastened around his middle and he was yanked off his feet. He was dragged back through the dusty soil with sparks of lightening crackling from his left hand. A large, heavy boot was place on his elbow and he looked up to see the Man in the Helmet with his foot on him. The Man in the Helmet looked down at him and ordered, “Stay still now!”

So shocked he was at the Man in the Helmet speaking to him like that he hesitated, giving Pumar enough time to reach his hand and it was Cara who put the final bracelet on his left arm—she started at the elbow and worked it down to the Child’s wrist. As soon as the final bracelet was on him, the Man in the Helmet lifted his foot and bent down to pick up the Child. Furious, the Child struck the Man—hitting him over and over again with both of his hands slapping and punching the helmet while a steady stream of curse words came out of his mouth.

Djin, did not hesitate. He walked over to the bench in front of the building, sat down and flipped the Child over so he was laying face down across Djin’s legs. Sighing, Djin muttered to himself, remember, --never in anger, always to teach--. Djin shoved the Child’s robe up over his legs and backside and back till the entirety of the green skin was visible. He noticed, with resignation, that the Child’s robe was soiled. Making a note that when next the Child was dressed the hippen was going to be affixed to the Child so firmly that it would take several keys and blasters to remove it, he took off his left gauntlet.

Then, with no expression whatsoever in his voice he spoke, “You are a foundling. We two are a Clan. I am the Senior member of the Clan. You will do as I say until you are of age. I told you to stay in this dwelling until you had slept and eaten some more. You disobeyed me and stole a power board. You could have been killed or injured, or worse, someone else could have been killed or injured. This is unacceptable and you must never do this again.” The Child wiggled under his hands and more swearing came from the Child.

Djin hardened his heart and softened his fingers. “You have earned this punishment. I am the Senior of our Clan and so must deliver your punishment.” Taking two fingers he slapped the Child firmly on his backside. There was a yelp and more yelling. “This punishment will continue until you apologize and promise you will never disobey me again.” And he used his two fingers on another area of the Child’s backside. Another yelp. The fingers were applied all over the Child’s back, including his legs. 

It was only after the fingers had been used on the bottom of the Child’s feet that the yelp was replaced with crying.  
Djin stopped and said, “Are you sorry you disobeyed?” The Child shook his head in one last act of defiance. Djin sighed and applied the fingers again, this time to the bottom of both feet. The crying became a wail. Again, Djin stopped and said again, with no tone in his voice. “are you sorry you disobeyed? This time the crying went on and finally the head nodded. Djin continued, “do you promise you will never disobey me again?” Another pause and the Child’s head nodded again.

Djin lifted the crying child into his arms, pulling down his robe. He looked the Child in his eyes…those big, emotional eyes were full of tears and sadness. Djin spoke, “You will now be washed and dressed. You will always wear a hippen until I say differently. If you remove the hippen again, you will be punished again. When you are dressed you will be fed. Since we do not have the analysis of what nutrition you need, you will be fed, you will sleep and as soon as you fill the hippen we will analyze the waste and determine what nutrition you need. When you are not eating you will be sleeping until the analysis shows your nutrition intake is adequate.

The Child burst into tears again and added a wailing more suited to a dying flower. Djin looked at the Child’s eyes, so big and full of tears and spoke again, “Your fluid intake will increase to compensate for your tears.” Whatever the Child expected to hear from the Man in the Helmet, this was not that and the crying continued with every more dramatic wailing.

Djin stood and looked at Pumra, his tone was soft and firm, “will you please show me how to bathe and clothe and feed him?” Pumra said, “Certainly”.

Djin said “thank you” and walked past Pumra and Cara to enter the house. Pumra and Care exchanged looks that meant, “I think someone has decided who is in charge.” They nodded with satisfaction and followed the head of the Mud Horn Clan into the house.  
  
Chapter Eleven “…You want me to sing to you, don’t you?”

Djin woke up before the alarm charm. He checked the controls and found everything was working fine. There were no unknown ships in orbit or approaching the Razor Crest. He quickly performed his morning routine, removed his gloves, ate breakfast, put his helmet on and picked up the “day bag” and used the ladder to descend to the lower level. 

The Child was awake, standing in the enclosed sleeping area. When he saw Djin, he reached out, making an impatient sound. Djin spoke softly, “Good Morning to you, young one. I see by your monitor that you did sleep well.” Djin walked over to the Child’s corner of the lower deck and put the day bag down on the low shelf. Oolie and his sons had spent much longer than the one day promised but the changes to the lower deck of the Razor Crest were practical, functional and so very useful to Djin that every morning he mentally thanked his brother and his nephews.

Djin scanned the environmental board adjusted the temperature control in the room so that the room temperature quickly rose from sleeping comfortable to daytime warmth. He returned to the Child and disengaged the controls on the sleeping compartment. It took time as there were multiple controls, both manual locks and computer-controlled fastenings. All the while he worked, the Child gestured impatiently and stamped his foot, showing clearly that Djin needed to hurry up.

As Djin worked he spoke slowly and with great patience. “You know what will happen now. First, I get you out of your night swaddle, run the hippen through the analyzer and see if your system is in balance, then you get a bath, oil, dust, and I dress you in a clean collection hippen. Then I check the analyzer for what it says. Whatever the analyzer says you need to eat; you will eat. Then you rest until you fill the collection hippen again. Then, you will be washed again, , put on a fresh collection hippen and you will be dressed in your day clothing. The more you help me do these things the faster it will go and soon we can be doing tasks you will enjoy more. Do you choose to cooperate?” 

The Child shook his head emphatically. Djin looked at the Child and laughed, “Just because you say No, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Since you choose not to cooperate, I will do these things without your cooperation. And you will see, in time, that there is a time to fight and a time to cooperate. Never fight with the head of your Clan. You will lose.”

The Child held out his hands and feet and indicated that Djin should remove the wrist bracelets and ankle bracelets. Djin shook his head and said out loud. “You know that the only time those bracelets come off is when you or me or the ship is threatened. It is so boring out there now we are barely using any fuel to fly.” 

The Child snorted and then spoke a stream of gibberish that Djin now recognized was the Child’s mother-tongue language including multiple swear words. Finishing his words and stomping his foot to make his point, the Child glared at him, turned around and walked to the far edge of his sleeping compartment. He curled himself into a ball with his rolled up back facing Djin. 

Djin spoke calmly, “How you act to start the day determines how long everything takes. The less time it takes to get ready for the day, the more time we have to spend together. Maybe even go for a speeder ride—the Magistrate wants more surveys done beyond the dune sea—you could come too, ride the speeder bike in front of me.” The rolled-up ball was quiet and still and then, after considering the offer, the Child shook all over.

Djin shrugged his shoulders and turned to the shelf, he unpacked the day bag, there was a soft blanket which he laid out on the shelf. There was also a fresh collection hippen along with the holder that kept the hippen in place. He also took out a white, long sleeve gown, the gown being made out of softest, most absorbent bantha fur- a gift from Greta and the other ladies. He put the bag to the side, turned on the shelf light and reached forward to activate the water faucet. When the water temperature reached the set temperature, Djin turned back to the child who had rolled himself into an even tighter ball. Djin walked over to the sleeping compartment, grabbed the four corners of the blanket that was underneath the child and pulled them together, so the Child was wrapped in the bottom of the blanket. As Djin lifted the Child in the blanket an indignant squawk came from the bundle followed by even more swear words. Djin laughed out loud. “Squawk all you want, Womp Rat, this is how the day starts.”

Djin put the blanket down and pushed the bundle so that the Child rolled out of the blanket. There was an indignant squawk and before the Child got to his feet, Djin had grabbed both of his arms and lifted them above the Child’s head. There was a click from a locking mechanism and the arms were attached to a vertical frame. The squawk changed to anger and the Child started kicking out with his feet. Djin deftly avoided the feet and pulled up the bottom half of the frame and attached the feet to the frame with the holding mechanism clicking. The Child then howled as loud as any Mud Horn had ever howled and Djin laughed again. “I am so frightened of you, please don’t hurt me!!!” 

Djin reached for the closures on the clothing the Child was wearing. As the Child howled and swore and stomped as much as the holding mechanism let him, Djin removed the outer clothing the Child was wearing and then unfastened the holder for the hippen. This took longer then the outer clothing as the hippen was held in place with 10 separate fasteners. Finally, all the fasteners were unfastened, and the hippen was removed. Djin glanced into the hippen and was pleased and relieved to see that the garment had been used during the night. “I knew you were starting to feel better you little whomp rat”. Djin removed the hippen from the fastener and opened the analyzer where he put the hippen and all of its contents inside, then pressed the sequence that started the analysis. 

While waiting for the analysis to be delivered Djin removed the wash hose from the holder and turned on the water. He swung the frame the Child was held to over the sink and then used the hose to put water on every part of the Child’s skin—with the Child reacting as though he were pouring lava on him. After the Child was wet, Djin took a bottle from the shelf, opened it, and applied the fluid to the Child. He then used his fingers to wash the Child, all over, including every nook and cranny a small being possessed. He was incredibly careful to avoid the Child’s mouth. When he had to wash the Child’s face, he pulled a mouth guard out of his sleeve and popped it into the Child’s mouth and then quickly washed the Child’s face, including his mouth and nose. He then used the water hose to rinse all the soap off the Child. During the rinsing, the Child managed to spit out the mouth guard which Djin picked up, rinsed off, dried, and put up his sleeve again. 

Djin turned on the dry air blower and used the hose to dry the Child. When the Child was dry and glaring at him with angry eyes Djin turned his eyes to the analyzer and said, “a few more minutes, might as well get you dressed for breakfast”. 

“Are you now willing to cooperate?” The child turned away from him, signifying his lack of cooperation. Djin shrugged and reached to the shelf above the table and pulled down an orange bottle. He put one hand behind the Child’s head and quickly insert the top of the bottle into a nostril. He squeezed the bottle first into one nostril and then the other. The Child’s head jerked up after the first squeeze, and then after the squeeze into the second nostril the Child’s head fell forward. 

Quickly, Djin rotated the table the holding frame was on until the back of the child faced him. He removed a bottle from the top shelf, turned on the brand new-compartment ventilation system (thank you again, Oolie) and then sprayed the Child’s midsection both in the back, between his legs and in the front. The liquid applied at first beaded up on the Child’s skin and then slowly disappeared into the skin. When all of the liquid had disappeared, Djin took a spray nozzle from the shelf and pointed it at the Child’s midsection. When he squeezed the nozzle, a fine green powder left the nozzle and adhered to the Child’s skin. Again, he applied the green powder covering the same area where the light oil liquid had applied. And just as with the light oil liquid the green powder disappeared into the Child’s skin. “no skin irritation for you today” 

Djin swiftly unfolded and put the fresh hippen on the Child. He fastened all the fasteners, making sure when doing so that the padded straps faced the Child’s delicate skin. He then took a different spray bottle from the shelf and sprayed another oil on each foot taking care when doing so that the oil was massaged between the three toes. Each foot was then covered by a thick sock that went all the way up to the outside of the Child’s waist. The bottom of the sock had supports for the Child’s foot, without being an actual shoe. The same routine was followed with each hand, although it was not a sock that was placed on the Child’s hands, it was a mitten with almost no space between the thumb and fingers. Each mitten and sock were fastened in such a way that the Child could not remove the mittens or the socks by itself.

With both the feet and hands covered, Djin then released the Child’s hands and before the Child woke up, he had slipped the white long-sleeve gown over the Child’s head. The garment went all the way down to the Child’s ankles and the sleeves went past the Child’s hands. The Child’s eyes opened as Djin released his feet. The Child blinked sleepily as Djin turned to the analyzer and read the output. He smiled at the Child and told him, “you are eating and digesting much better. And with the good sleep you enjoy, the better everything works. This is a good start to the day.” 

Djin crossed the Child’s arms across his front and slid a small pillow under the Child’s chin and another small pillow underneath his knees. He then quickly pulled the sleeves and bottom of the gown up and over the Child, tucking the ends into specially made pockets until the Child was completely swaddled, leaving only his head visible and upright due to the pillow underneath the Child’s neck.

Djin opened the panel above the analyzer and found four vials there, one brown, one green, one blue milk and one thick with yellow chunks. Each syringe had a syringe plunger at one end and a small, soft plastic nipple at the other end. He expertly removed the cap from the nipple on the first Syringe and placed the nipple gently into the Child’s mouth. “Ready for breakfast?” The Child shook his head “NO!” and shut his mouth and his eyes. Djin started depressing the plunger forcing a small amount of liquid into the Child’s mouth. 

The Child was fully awake now and tried again to turn his head away, but it was no use. Between the swaddling and not being able to use his hands and feet the Child had no choice but to drink the fluid in each syringe. Djin took great care not to push the syringe too fast or too slow but just to keep steady pressure on it. As he fed the Child the first liquid he spoke, quite conversationally, “I know this is not the way you like to eat, but it sure is better than using the tube that went down your nose.” The Child’s eyes widened at that and he sucked on the nipple vigorously. 

To himself, Djin noted that this was the first sign of cooperation. Purma had told him that all Children get used to routine, but all children do not adjust at the same time. It was more likely than not that this Child would adjust to being fed with the syringes faster since the alternative, the nasal tube, had been so upsetting. Purma, Djin reflected ruefully, was always correct.

After the first syringe was emptied, Djin took the child, placed him over his shoulder and started patting his back. After a very satisfying burp left the Child, Djin replaced him on his lap, took the second syringe and fed the contents to the Child. This process was repeated with each of four syringes.

When the liquid in all four syringes had been consumed, and four productive burps had been generated. Djin reached into the swaddling blanket and felt the Child’s midsection. His stomach was full of the liquid in the four syringes. Djin removed his hand, applied several drops of the skin oil he had previously applied to the child and then reinserted his hand and began to rub the Child’s belly slowly and with barely detectable pressure. 

The Child glared a death glare at Djin and Djin grinned back and said, “I know what you want, you want me to sing to you, don’t you? The Child shook his head and made a disgusted face. Djin smiled and began to sing the morning song of the Mandalore, “good morning to you, good morning to you, we’re all in our places, with bright shiny faces, cuz THIS IS THE WAY, to start every day, good morning to you” You want to try to sing with me.? No? That’s okay, I’ll sing it by myself until you know the words. 

As he sung, he lowered his voice and kept gently rubbing the Child’s belly. Djin kept singing the song, with all the known verses, each time lowering his voice and then slowing the tempo of the song. He was rewarded with the Child shutting his eyes and his entire body going limp in his arms. 

Djin slowed the rubbing of his fingers but did not stop. -Some while later he was rewarded when the sensors in the hippen sent a signal to his wrist gauntlet indicating that waste had been eliminated by the Child and deposited in the Hippen. 

He held the sleeping Child close and told him what a good boy he was, and how much he was loved and that everyone was so happy that he was feeling better again and he was just the best Child. 

As he waited, he planned. This time, after the Child had been cleaned and another hippen had been placed on him, he would put the Child into the robe he loved to wear and remove the mittens from his hands.  
As a surprise for the Child he had contacted Cara to accompany them on their survey of the other side of this planet where there were reported to be plenty of interesting plants and water to investigate, including some delicious frogs. 

As he planned the day he remembered to activate the storage drawer and remove what Greta had called a “day bag”. The bag contained, Hippens, food, drink, extra socks and mittens, warm blanket and an emergency supply of breathable atmosphere. After he had removed the day bag, he noted, with gratitude and affection that even with one day bag removed the drawer still contained at lest 100 more day bags. They were ready for this day and all the future days to come. 

THIS IS THE WAY  
-30-


End file.
